Norman Police arrest “candid drug dealer” for possession of a variety of drugs

NORMAN, Okla. – He was the drug dealer who just couldn’t help but tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

It all started when an officer noticed a suspicious car in the Days Inn parking lot.

Captain Tom Easley said “Brake lights came on, then went off. Didn’t see anybody in the vehicle and thought it was unusual.”

A few minutes later, Howard Odenthal came out to the car, carrying a backpack.

When asked if he had anything illegal inside, Odenthal truthfully answered “a little bit of weed.”

A quick search turned up more than 30 grams of meth, a glass pipe, hydrocodone pills, thousands of dollars in cash, a digital scale, and a pair of brass knuckles with a built-in knife.

Police say if it hadn’t been for Odenthal’s honesty, he would have gotten away.

“Mr. Odenthal was so cooperative, he kind of self-inflicted all of this on himself.” Easley said. “But you know, there is a lot of luck in the fact that we ran onto him and actually had the encounter with him at that particular time.”

The chance encounter will cost him some serious jail time: proving that the truth doesn’t always set you free.

Police also say Odenthal was quite polite the entire time. He is still in the Cleveland County Jail on a $50,000 bond.